3 Peaks chalet based guided walking, French Alps

Our 3 Peaks ( ) graded walking holidays are specifically designed for fit and experienced walkers with a high level of stamina, who are looking for challenging mountain walks. We have no set itinerary on our chalet based holidays and each days walk is decided the evening before, in consultation with the group and depending on the weather forecast.

A typical day will involve at least eight hours on the mountain and four hours of vertical ascent (with a 1,200 metres height gain). Although these are walking holidays, there may be some scrambling and use of fixed ropes and chains to pass occasional exposed areas. There may also be some ridge walking, requiring a good head for heights.

Some favourite walks feature most weeks and a good example of a typical, popular walk is the Pointe de Sales route. This begins by the impressive Cascade du Rouget (Queen-of-the-Alps) waterfall at 986 metres altitude, which start with a steep climb just to the right of the thundering waterfall. As the climb progresses we settle into a more steady gradient until we reach the alpine pastures and huts at Sales (1,871 metres).

From here, there are two choices. One option involves climbing up to Point de Sales at 2,450 metres, an impressively exposed summit with stunning views back onto Samoens and onto the Mont Blanc range. Alternatively, we will continue up the valley to an impressive lookout, the Breche du Derochoir at 2,250 metres, where we can creep up to the edge of a sheer vertical 200 metre drop (optional of course), all the while looking at the entire Mont Blanc range laid out in front of us.

Making sure everyone is happy
Please note that these holidays are designed for those who are fit and able, who have a good head for heights who are up for a challenge involving long days with long climbs.

We would like to ensure that everyone gets the experience that they expected on these holidays and therefore, if any guests prove to be significantly less fit and able than the majority of the group and not able to walk 3 Peaks graded routes as described here, we reserve the right to either move the guest(s) into a lower graded group, if available, or to provide a GPS and route guide for self-guided walking on three of the days.